Saturday, October 30, 2010

Today (October 30) is the Feast of St. Alphonsus Rodriguez (532-1617), a married man who experienced lots of human sufferings and later became a lay brother.

St. Alphonsus had a great devotion to the mystery of the Immaculate Conception of Mary. He had a great regard for the Little Office of the Immaculate Conception and popularized its use among others. The saint recited it every day for 40 years. Our Lady is said to have appeared to him, praised him for his devotion, and urged him to recommend this Little Office to others and to spread its use far and wide.

The Missionaries of Charity (founded by Mother Teresa) pray the Little Office everyday. I warmly recommend this devotion to honor Our Lady 7 times a day. The total length of the Little Office is about 15 minutes.

After the 4:30 PM Mass on Saturday, I drove to St. Ann’s Parish in Abbotsford to give a talk (7:30-9 PM) on the Holy Eucharist and Eucharistic Miracles. I shared stories of the saints and their relics.

At 9 PM, I drove from Abbotsford to Squamish (arrived around 11 PM) to hear Confessions of high school students from St. Pat’s at the Encounter Retreat.

I stayed at Squamish overnight. And on Sunday (Oct. 24) I drove 17 km from the camp site to the Dominican Contemplative Nuns to celebrate Mass and to pray the Day Time Hour.

We prayed in the presence of holy relics of many Dominican Saints and Blessed. In the middle of the box are the relics of the True Cross and St. Dominic. I blessed each nun with these relics.

In the afternoon, I said Mass for the high school students at the camp site.

At night time, I drove back to Vancouver.

It was a special weekend, that I said 3 Sunday Masses (including the anticipated Mass) at 3 different locations.

Two weeks ago we looked at Divine Tradition. Public revelation comes to us in Scripture and Tradition. Throughout the history of the Church there have been private revelations. These are supernatural manifestations of hidden truths God makes to private individuals for their own spiritual benefit or that of others. Faith in public revelation is necessary for salvation, whereas private revelations are helpful for salvation.

In recent years there have been numerous reports of alleged apparitions. We need to be very cautious about them, because Satan often uses the "sugar from hell" (i.e. false apparitions) to choke and destroy the "salt of heaven" (i.e. true apparitions). To discern whether an alleged revelation is of divine origin or not, its object, subjects, effects, and signs must be studied.

Object

God does not contradict Himself. A true private revelation must conform to public revelation, the teachings of the Church, and other approved private revelations. Even if the contents of a revelation are 99 per cent in conformity with the Church's teaching and only 1 per cent falsehood, then according to St. Teresa of Avila this revelation must be rejected absolutely!

Private revelations are generally brief, clear, and precise. Every word given at private revelation is for the sanctification of souls. Our Lady did not enter into pointless conversation. Revelations concerning merely curious or useless matters should be rejected as false.

Alleged revelations that contain lies or false prophecies must be rejected. Regarding the manner of speech, Our Lady would never speak in a fretful fashion like a frantic worried woman. True revelations respect free will and do not impose extreme forms of prayer and penance.

Subjects and effects

Studying the effects of an alleged revelation on its seer helps to discern its genuineness. All alleged revelations result in an increase of prayer and devotion. Hence we should not look at the quantity but the quality. True mystics do not just pray more but practise virtues to a heroic degree.

A person cannot remain worldly after seeing Christ or Our Lady. Almost all the unmarried girls who had truly seen Our Lady chose the state of virginity for the rest of their lives. If a seer is making profit from an alleged apparition or if the seer is vain in clothing and appearance, that seer is suspect. Genuine visionaries fly from publicity, while false seers like to travel and seek popularity.

An important criterion in discernment is obedience. A genuine mystic always obey authority. Ordinarily the Holy See does not pronounce judgement on alleged apparitions. It is the authority of the local bishop to do so. So far there has been no private revelation that has received a final condemnation by the local bishop (rather than just initial distrust) and later found to be true. A seer who does not obey the local bishop cannot be genuine.

Signs

Miracles are signs that support the genuineness of a revelation. God does not multiply miracles to satisfy curiosity. Demons cannot perform miracles, but they can do things that look like miracles. A demon can cause apparitions, locutions, visions, voices, levitation, ecstasies, stigmata, halos, odours, things to be moved, signs in the sky, prolonged fast, tongues, secrets revealed, tears, and brass to change to gold.

Only God can create matter out of nothing, provide cures that require instantaneous growth of destroyed tissue, or multiply bread and fishes. An example of a true miracle is a blind child who was born with no pupils and was able to see after the prayer of Padre Pio, now a saint.

I warmly recommend a book by Father Benedict Groeschel, A Still, Small Voice: A Practical Guide on Reported Revelations.

Friday, October 22, 2010

Farewell to Carmen Herrera who is joining the Daughters of Saint Mary of Providence.

Study week for priests least than 5 years at Rosemary Heights Retreat Center from Oct. 18-22. It was a good experience to meet and to talk with priests from other dioceses. Quite often priests in other dioceses in Canada have to drive many kilometers on the weekend to different churches to say Masses.

Friday, October 15, 2010

This month our archdiocese has been blessed with the presence of relics of St. John Vianney and St. John Bosco. According to the Modern Catholic Dictionary, a relic is "an object connected with a saint, e.g. part of the body or clothing or something the person has used or touched." "Relics are of three classes: the first is part of the saint's body and is the type placed in the altar stone; the second is part of the clothing or anything used during the saint's life; and the third is any other object, such as a piece of cloth, that has been touched to a first-class relic."

Means of connection

The veneration of relics helps us connect to the past, present, and future. Relics connect us to the past. They remind us that the saints were real human beings with flesh and bones. The saints experienced human weaknesses, trials, and limitations, but by their co-operation with divine grace they became the heroes of their times, and they contributed marvellously to the glorious history of the Church. Relics connect us to the present reality of the communion of saints. The souls of the saints are now in heaven. A relic represents a saint in heaven. When we pray before a relic, we pray to the saint it represents. Relics and sacred images remind us of the loving protection and intercession of the saints. Relics also help us to feel connected with the holy places where tombs of the saints are located. Furthermore, relics help us to feel connected with the religious communities that the saints belonged to. Relics inspire us to hope for the future. The veneration of relics increases our desire to meet the souls of the saints in heaven. Relics remind us of the resurrection of the dead. The bodies of the saints will rise in glory on the last day. We hope to share the same glory with the saints.

An example

Blessed Anne Catherine Emmerich (1774-1824) was a mystic who had the exceptional gift of recognizing relics. One time she saw relics and exclaimed: "They are shining: what treasures we possess, more valuable than a kingdom." Regarding relics that had been buried and neglected, she said, "I saw that these neglected treasures confer blessings wherever they lie and ward off Satan's influence. I have seen certain places preserved from serious calamities by them whilst others of recent date suffered severely, because possessing nothing of the kind." Blessed Catherine lived during a time when churches were being dismantled and convents being suppressed. Many relics were neglected or treated disrespectfully. This was a source of deep sorrow for her and she strove to revive veneration of these relics. People brought her relics, so that at the time of her death she possessed more than 300. During her lifetime, Blessed Catherine venerated the relics of saints with deep devotion. With the help of these saints, she is now a blessed in the Church, and her own body has become a holy relic! Blessed Catherine was intensely devoted to the Holy Eucharist. For years she ate practically nothing except Holy Communion. The bodies of the saints were made holy by the Eucharist. The same Eucharist will make our bodies holy too! In Vancouver I am hosting three prayer groups in Cantonese and English. We pray the Rosary, learn about the teachings and lives of the saints, and honour the holy relics of different saints. If you are interested in joining, please visit my website for more information.

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Our Lady of the Clergy, Pray for Us!

O Priest! thou art not thyself, because thou art God; thou art not of thyself, because thou art the servant and minister of Christ; thou art not thine own, because thou art the spouse of the Church; thou art not for thyself, because thou art the mediator between God and man; thou art not from thyself, because thou art nothing. What then art thou, O Priest? Nothing and everything. O Priest! take care lest what was said to Christ on the Cross be said to thee: He saved others, himself he cannot save. -St. Norbert